WWE No Mercy 2017: Booking Decisions That Must Be Made at PPV
Since SummerSlam, the Raw brand has done an excellent job of building toward its next exclusive event, WWE No Mercy 2017 on Sept. 24. Most of the matches have the potential to be blockbusters, especially the two main events.
It's almost as if WrestleMania 34 will be coming early, with Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman and John Cena vs. Roman Reigns taking place on the same show. Whether they will deliver remains to be seen, but WWE has captured the attention of fans with how heavily both bouts have been hyped in recent weeks.
On the undercard, Alexa Bliss will have the odds stacked against her when she defends the Raw Women's Championship against Sasha Banks, Nia Jax and Emma in a Fatal 4-Way match. Meanwhile, Enzo Amore will vie for the Cruiserweight Championship and Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins will put their Raw Tag Team Championships on the line for the first time.
With such a stacked card, No Mercy's goal should be to maintain the momentum the Monday night program has had going of late. SummerSlam had its fair share of flaws and fluky finishes, so WWE should look to right those wrongs at this upcoming event.
Let's look at the booking decisions WWE must make at No Mercy.
Roman Reigns Must Defeat John Cena in Clean Fashion
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John Cena vs. Roman Reigns could easily headline WrestleMania, yet WWE opted to rush into the rivalry in time for No Mercy instead. It could be because Cena's busy schedule won't allow him to be around for the fall, but whatever the reason, he must do the right thing on his way out.
Since returning to the ring in July, Cena has elevated only one person: Shinsuke Nakamura. He hasn't buried as many talents in recent years, as Reigns claimed he has. And it makes sense for Cena to rarely lose clean so it means more when he does.
That said, it is imperative he put over Reigns in clean fashion in their encounter at No Mercy. If the plan is for Cena to take time off again following the event, it would be illogical to have Reigns lose yet another major match while Cena isn't there to capitalize off the victory.
Reigns' last win on pay-per-view came at WrestleMania 33, when he defeated (and seemingly retired) The Undertaker. If he is set to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at next year's Showcase of the Immortals, he needs to start beating the best the company has to offer, including Cena.
A non-finish might be booked to set up a rematch for later down the road, but to avoid further damage being done to Reigns (considering he has lost every war of words he's had with Cena), The Big Dog must decisively defeat Cena on Sept. 24.
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins Must Remain a Cohesive Unit
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It can be argued that Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins stole the summer season in WWE with their awesome angle that saw them slowly start to trust each other again. Their bad blood over the past three years has been well-documented, though it was their collective issues with Sheamus and Cesaro that brought them back together in time for SummerSlam.
At the biggest party of the summer, Ambrose and Rollins were successful in their pursuit of the Raw Tag Team Championships and have been riding high ever since. From Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows to The Hardy Boyz, no one has been able to defeat them in standard tag team competition.
Regardless of the result of their championship clash with Sheamus and Cesaro at No Mercy, they must remain a cohesive unit at the event, as well as through the remainder of the fall, at the very least. They have injected new life into the Raw tag team division, and there is still plenty of shelf life left in them as a duo.
It isn't uncommon for WWE to break up tag teams when they are at the peak of the popularity, with a prime example being The Shield itself back in 2014. The company must refrain from repeating that same mistake this time around and instead milk this storyline for everything it's worth.
Beyond No Mercy, Ambrose and Rollins have a ready-made rivalry with The Revival when they return to action, so it isn't as if they will have run out of challengers after beating Sheamus and Cesaro again.
Alexa Bliss Must Retain the Raw Women's Championship
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Alexa Bliss' Raw run has been nothing short of spectacular, capturing her first Raw Women's Championship less than a month removed from her Raw debut and knocking off Bayley and Sasha Banks in subsequent pay-per-view matches.
Although she lost the belt to Banks at SummerSlam, it wasn't long before she regained the gold on Raw. It was originally supposed to be Bliss vs. Banks one-on-one again at No Mercy, but a tag team victory from Emma and Nia Jax earned them entry into the matchup.
In such a situation, Bliss' chances of retaining the title are drastically diminished. Despite that, she must walk out of the event with her title reign intact ahead of Asuka's eventual arrival on Raw.
It was odd her previous run with the belt was interrupted at SummerSlam, but that could have been done to keep The Boss in the conversation. Putting the strap back on Banks any time would be a mistake, and it's too soon for either Jax or Emma to become champion.
With Asuka set to come to Team Red nights sooner rather than later, she needs to challenge a credible champion, and no one has been more successful this year in Raw's women's division than Alexa Bliss. Her reign must continue through the fall season before she battles The Empress of Tomorrow.
Neville Must Make Short Work of Enzo Amore
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Enzo Amore's arrival on 205 Live shortly after SummerSlam was a bit of a puzzling move because aside from his immense popularity, he has little to offer to the cruiserweight division.
Before recently, Enzo had not won many matches on his own and was largely utilized as comic relief. That is the role he thrives in, but as a singles competitor, it's difficult to take him seriously as a championship contender.
Additionally, he won't be going up against any ordinary titleholder at No Mercy. His opponent will be Neville, who has run roughshod over the division in 2017 and suffered only one loss by pinfall in one-on-one action.
They are far more worthy challengers to the WWE Cruiserweight Championship than The Realest Guy in the Room, which is why this feud must end at No Mercy with a quick win for Neville. After all, Enzo was embarrassed by The Miz on Monday's edition of Raw, which doesn't bode well for his chances versus The King of the Cruiserweights.
Neville contesting a competitive match with Enzo is fairly unrealistic. Thus, considering their clash likely won't be a barn burner, it should end in a matter of minutes, with Neville annihilating Enzo and maintaining his possession of the prestigious prize.
Braun Strowman Must Capture the Universal Championship
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When Brock Lesnar clinched the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33, it was expected he would hold on to the gold until the following year's installment, when he would drop it to Roman Reigns. He has successfully defended the title twice since 'Mania, and on both occasions, it would have been for the best for the belt to be transitioned on to someone else.
There is no doubt Lesnar is the most legitimate athlete WWE has, but given how inconsistent his appearances are on TV, he isn't the most reliable world champion. Lesnar's disappearances for months at a time were the biggest flaw with his previous title reign, and they have been a significant problem in 2017 as well.
It also isn't as if there is no one on the Raw roster who could conceivably dethrone the champion. Braun Strowman has proved on countless occasions he is on Lesnar's level and, as seen recently on Raw, that he can manhandle The Beast Incarnate with ease.
After such a strong year for Strowman, there isn't a better time to pull the trigger on a world title win for him. He would also be solidified as the most dominant threat in the organization, giving Lesnar a challenge for a change and allowing the rivalry to continue.
The chances of him handing Lesnar a rare defeat are slim to none, but it would definitely be the best booking decision WWE could make with the Universal Championship picture.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.
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